Don’t forget it’s lights out at 10pm and porridge for breakfast we were told as we asked directions to Oxford’s former prison.
But then it was not a hard ‘cell’ to persuade my wife and I to spend a night inside at the old jail and now the boutique hotel Malmaison.
The old prison landing still remains with the hotel bedrooms leading off it
Even so, it was strange seeing the cells converted into bedrooms and the unmistakable prison landing where you expected to bump into a convict in uniform on his way to slop out.
Despite the outward appearance of this chic hotel, the conversion inside has been done very imaginatively and luxuriously with plush rooms, an atmospheric bar and dining room serving first class food. However, visitors cannot escape reminders of the history and traces of the former HM Prison Oxford.
There had been a gallows in the yard where the last public execution took place in 1863, although capital punishment continued behind closed doors in the C-wing until 1950. The hanging cell is now part of the staff quarters, which must be a chilling introduction to newcomers.
The hotel has kept two original cells in the A-wing, which reception will open up to visitors on request.
However, one aspect of the old institution had changed; a bunch of jangling keys has been replaced by electronic swipe cards for guests to enter their ‘padded cell’.
The history of the site goes back nearly 1,000 years as William the Conqueror ordered Oxford Castle to be built in 1071AD shortly after the Norman conquest of England.
Throughout history the castle was home to royal visitors, including in 1142 Princess Matilda, daughter of Henry I, then Henry III in the late 13th century and during the Civil War Charles II made nearby Christ Church and the Royalist city his headquarters.
In 1781 the castle prison was completely rebuilt to house 350 men and 50 women prisoners.
Formerly HM Prison Oxford, now the hotel Malmaison
However, in 1996 HM Prison Oxford was deemed too expensive to modernise again and was sold to the county council for a mere £9,000. Today Malmaison, which was revamped in 2005, values the site at around £30 million.
Now the former prison is gaining a reputation not only as a top hotel but also a filming location for programmes such as Inspector Morse, Bad Girls and The Bill.
The hotel is a few minutes’ walk from the city centre with its shops and famous colleges plus tourist attractions such as the Ashmolean Museum and the Bodleian Library, so it is not too tough a sentence to spend a weekend there.
In front of the bar, not behind bars in the brasserie
By the way, the lights were still on after midnight, we served our time in front of the bars, not behind them and I didn’t see a single ‘inmate’ having porridge for breakfast.
• For more details of Malmaison, 3 Oxford Castle, Oxford, OX1 1AY contact 01865 268400 or email oxford@malmaison.com